I think my awareness of taking care of the environment started out by watching the ’90’s TV show Clarissa Explains it All. The main character, Clarissa, always had awesome earrings and crazy bright colors to go with her outfit. One of the episodes was about recycling and reusing waste and for that episode Clarissa (played by actress, Melissa Joan Heart) wore these cool globe earrings. Sigh. Clarissa was so cool; anyways, that’s really when I started taking notice of the environment and the impact I have on it.

Fast forward a couple decades and insert one baby and well, you’ve got quite the dilemma. Now I need to think about the impact I’m making on the environment not only for myself but for my children who will (hopefully) be here longer than I will be. When my husband and I decided to use cloth diapers on our son it was purely for monetary savings. Neither one of us was thinking about the fact that we would be helping out the environment by producing less waste sitting in a landfill. Shortly after I started using cloth diapers I started to see waste, garbage if you will, differently.

Suddenly I felt guilty about mindlessly throwing anything away; had using cloth diapers altered my view on waste this much? Some may argue that it didn’t but let me share with you the ways that I’ve become greener since we made the decision to use cloth on our babies’ bums:

I could go on and on but this isn’t about me and the greener choices that I’ve made. This is about you! Think to yourself about the changes that you’ve made since you started using cloth diapers on your baby. Have you made any changes? If you have, tell me about them! I love being inspired by others. And for more information on Earth Day please visit this website.

Elizabeth "Bert" Anderson is a stay-at-home mom of two living outside of the Twin Cities and the writer behind the blog, First Time Mom. She's a lover of cloth diapers, pop culture, health and fitness, and the blessings that comes with being a mother.

Thanks to composting and recycling, my husband and I produce one bag of trash a week! And that’s even after having a baby. It’s so easy to reduce trash if you put your mind to it.

Comment by Aryn on April 22, 2013 at 1:09 pm

First major change was getting rid of all chemical cleaning products and personal products. We already used fragrance free everything, but now we don’t use anything we can’t make ourselves. Vinegar and baking soda all the way! Now we also compost to give away to friends with gardens, and I have purchased menstrual cups for myself and my sister. Next up is planting a garden when we move next month!

Comment by Anna R on April 22, 2013 at 6:20 pm

I loved Clarissa!

Comment by Rebecca on April 22, 2013 at 6:39 pm

We don’t make much trash either and we are a family of four. I wish I had been brave enough to cloth diaper my first 7 years ago – it is so much easier then I thought it would be!

Comment by Laura Anne on April 22, 2013 at 7:17 pm

Oh.my.gosh. Cloth diapering has had the SAME effect on me. It’s been a huge lifestyle change in many ways for us!

Comment by Jennifer Bell on April 22, 2013 at 8:37 pm

My family has always tried to recycle, but my wife really helped me see the value in being green. I thought using cloth diapers was going to be difficult, but after a week of helping change diapers, it is really not an issue. It is time consuming to wash diapers at least 2 times a week, but it is much better than having to take out a trash bag full of disposable diapers 2 times a week!
We used to go to the farmers market often, as it was relatively close to where we lived, but have fallen out of the habbit since we moved. We started using a service called greenling which delivers fresh produce to your door, but we also have found a few farmers markets we are going to be trying out.

Comment by Scott on April 23, 2013 at 1:14 pm

Cloth diapering was our first major step towards becoming more environmentally conscious. We are now also eating clean and trying to reduce our carbon footprint in all areas of our lives.

Comment by Jamie on April 23, 2013 at 1:14 pm

Ive def started to see things differently after I had a baby and started using cloth. I use eco friendly cleaning supplies and reusable snack bags. I also really like unpaper towels. I do what I can and I hope one day I will be able to do even more eco friendly things to help set a good example for my daughter

Comment by Sarah Hayes on April 23, 2013 at 2:15 pm

LOVE this post! I made the switch to mama cloth not long ago, we also use un-paper towels in the kitchen. It’s fun to find new ways to go green!!

Comment by Angela Heffner on April 24, 2013 at 11:36 am

I am in the process of changing to eco and baby friendly cleaning products. We are building our cloth diaper stash. I’m trying to leave a smaller print thinking about the future generations.

Comment by marette on April 24, 2013 at 1:09 pm

I just got sandwich wraps and a snack bag to decrease our plastic wrap usage. I’d love ot get produce bags, but I need to work on DH for that. I’m also looking for a recipe for household cleaner now that I have an empty spray bottle.

Comment by Melissa on April 24, 2013 at 2:07 pm

I recycle a lot – in fact, so much, that I often have an overflowing bin before pickup. Too bad I can’t get recycling pickup every week and garbage every other, instead of the opposite. I also try to reuse when I can (grocery bags for cat litter, that sort of thing). It’s a big deal for me to try to reduce the amount of trash we put out. With three cats, two adults, and a baby, I think we’re doing pretty well!

I also really like to hang my diapers outside on the line, but that’s mostly because the bleaching effects of the sun make me feel like I have magical powers.

Comment by Libby C on April 24, 2013 at 2:48 pm

I am planning on switching to reusable sandwich and snack bags for the kiddos and just started the switch to cloth

Comment by Mandy W on April 24, 2013 at 2:50 pm

I’m really working on re-purposing garments and other supplies in my sewing and craft projects instead of going out and buying new fabric. I’m also saving up for a menstrual cup and trying to convince my 14 yr. old to switch to re-usable cloth. I think I’ve got her convinced to use it at night. That’s a start.

Comment by Judith Martinez on April 24, 2013 at 7:36 pm

I haven’t thought about Clarissa Explains it All in a long time. Hilarious flash back. Maybe that show made an environmental impact of me as well? I am feeling good about Earth Day this year as a new cloth diapering mama. I know I could do better with not using plastic bags. I need to purchase more reusable small wet bags.

Comment by Alizzy Gooding on April 24, 2013 at 9:48 pm

Yes everyone has to start somewhere! At least you can sew; if only I could sew…

My most recent step was to switch to a menstrual cup. I did it because I was tired of the discomfort of pads and tampons, as well as the cost, but after a couple of months I’ve realized it feels really good to not be producing so much waste. Now I am thinking about making my own washable pantiliners so that I can reduce the garbage produced from the disposable ones. My mom passed down to me some flat diapers made of flannel that she never used (I was cloth diapered, but my younger siblings weren’t), but since I already have tons of prefolds and don’t really like flats anyway, I’m thinking the fabric will work well for washable pantiliners for me.

Comment by Marcelaine on May 2, 2013 at 7:32 pm

Oh, and I also like to use old washcloths and towels instead of paper towels. I’ve built up quite a stash of stained or grayed washcloths that I use for most of my cleaning.

Comment by Marcelaine on May 2, 2013 at 7:37 pm

I ADORE my cup, Marcelaine!!

Comment by Bert on May 3, 2013 at 3:33 pm

We bought a prius!

Comment by Meg C-K on June 20, 2013 at 6:54 pm

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